Mid-20s working gal with a passion for being and living healthy…in a yummy way!

Posts Tagged ‘Product Review’

I’ve never been a HUGE soup person. It’s delicious, but I find it fills you up for the time being, but leaves me hungry soon after. That said, I don’t think I’ve ever consumed as much soup as I have recently.

My diet as of late:

Notice a theme?

I have been feeling completely nauseous for days and chicken based soups have never hit the spot so well. And it just so happens that I was sent coupons to try out Campbell’s line of healthy soups a while back.

First day I had the Chicken Tuscany, which I’ve had before and knew I liked!

Different than chicken noodle, it has white beans, and more of a “cream of chicken soup” taste to it. Delish!!

While babysitting one night, I brought along the can of Chicken with Whole Grain Noodles – easy and portable dinner! I like how they have whole grain noodles

And when I was starting to feel a bit better, I had a soup with a bit more zest to it

Topped with some chips and cheese of course.

I’ve always enjoyed Campbells soups in the past. I love how the “light” versions are light enough to be enjoyed as a side dish, snack or appetizer, but still with delicious flavor!

Of course, who only eats half the soup can, am I right?

They’re low in fat, packed with protein, and a decent amount of fiber (well some of them). And all 11 Select Harvest Light varieties are 100% Natural. AKA they contain no artificial flavors, colors or preservatives. Real ingredients people!

Sure, the sodium is high, but honestly I really don’t pay attention to that at this point in my life (even though I should). Meh!

Thank you Campbells for providing me with some delicious soup during my sick days!! (Please note I was given coupons for the above soups to try and review).

I’m actually excited to try out some different flavors I’ve never had now.

Besides soup, I’ve also had quite a bit of bland toast.

And I went through a whole lot of Diet Sierra Mist. It’s really weird how such foods/drinks really do help you feel better.

I’m feeling better now thank goodness, but it was the weirdest thing. The way I knew I really truly was not feeling well was because I had ZERO appetite. Bites and thoughts of food constantly had me feeling sick to my stomach. I could only tolerate certain things at certain times (such as soup and toast!). That never happens to me. Even when I’m sick I can always still eat.

I could also sometimes stomach cereal such as this delicious granola I got cheap at Ralphs:

Plans fell through Saturday night, and in a “feeling sorry for my lame self sort of funk” I had Kahlua & almond milk as an appetizer, waffles for dinner and drank peach wine for dessert.

Breakfast food is always my go-to comfort food.

Trader Joe’s peach champagne is deeeelicious. And Christmas decorations make it better.

Luckily Indiana Jones was on TV to cheer me up

Yesterday before work in the morning, I was running a bit late and had no bread for toast so instead I grabbed a quick bar!

I used to love Fiber One bars back in the day. When I realized they contained high fructose corn syrup (which they don’t contain anymore – plus!!) I stopped buying them. But recently My Blog Spark offered to send me a couple coupons to try out Fiber One products! I decided to give them another go.

This bar tasted like I was eating candy for breakfast. A tad sweet for me that early in the morning. And you all know how I love my sweet breakfasts! (Hello syrup, pumpkin butter, pumpkin cream cheese, etc).

It did, however, keep my stomach from grumbling for a good 2 1/2 hours until my breakfast break!

I also got a box of the mocha chip flavor – a brand new flavor to me! This one was okay – I think I like the chocolate chip or peanut butter (which I’ve had in the past) better.

PS: My sister likes to call these “fart bars” (I think she picked it up from her friends, seeing as how she’s never tried them). Although I have to say, neither bar gave me any problems I think my body is just too dang used to fiber haha.

I also had the pleasure of sampling two of their cereals at work:

Have to say I’m glad neither one containers high fructose corn syrup (something I’ve seen in their cereals before):

The Caramel Delight was delicious. Like a caramel flavored cinnamon toast crunch. The Frosted Shredded Wheat was also tasty, but I think I’d prefer Mini Wheats or Shredded Wheat brand. I’ve also tried the Honey Clusters in the past and really liked them.

Back in my low-cal diety days, I used to love the Fiber One plain cereal (the one that looks like rat-poop. You know?). But deceivingly, it contains aspartame. Which many people wouldn’t realize. That’s one thing that really bothered me about the product.

I’m still a 100% advocate for natural sources of fiber (such as fruits, veggies, beans, and whole grain products) that don’t contain added fiber! However, I do think that Fiber One products can be a great source of fiber for those people who are picky about their foods and don’t get enough fiber in their diet.

You can check out all their other goodies which include:

Yogurt

Cottage cheese

Cereal

Granola bars

Toaster pastries (or Pop-Tarts)

Baking products (muffin & pancake mix)

Bread products (which I have yet to see!)

Would you like to try out Fiber One products for yourself? Leave a comment here telling me which product you’d most like to try out (or your favorite product of theirs) by Wednesday December 15 at 10 pm pacific time and I’ll announce the winner on Thursday. The winner will receive:

2 coupons of Fiber One products

a $25 Safeway gift card to try out other Fiber One products

You know you want some!!

Please note that the information, prize pack, and giveaway have all been provided by Fiber One through MyBlogSpark.

I ended up with crispy chicken tenders for dinner in an easy 20 minutes (5 minutes prep, 15 minutes cooking!). And it was delicious. This was definitely a delicious low-fat alternative to buffalo wings. I do wish, however that the ingredient list wasn’t quite so long. But you can’t be too picky about those things all the time!

Want to try out Shake ‘n Bake for yourself? (Please note that this was sent to me for free, and Shake ‘n Bake is supplying the products for this review and giveaway).

The winner will receive:

A sample of NEW Shake ‘N Bake Crispy Buffalo

Football-themed serving plates

A tip sheet that includes tips on how to host the perfect football party

A $50 American Express gift card to outfit the rest of your party

I’m not a big football fan, but this would be perfect for any sports game watching. I served it during baseball World Series time

To enter:

Leave a comment telling me your favorite sport to watch

Spread the word and link back to the giveaway

With the holiday coming up, I’ll give you some extra time and will pick a winner on Friday November 26.

This post was meant to go up yesterday (Sunday). It looks like I wrote it, uploaded it, and then completely forgot to publish it. Shows how tired I was.

Up and at ’em at 5:00 am yet again!

I had some of my new cereal and yogurt. Plus a scoop of maple PB.

And mulitple cups of coffee obviously.

Breakfast#2 at breaktime (again – sorry of the awful lighting in the cafeteria that early in the morning).

I had some Kashi Heart to Heart with milk (it’s been so long since I’ve had normal cow’s milk!), a banana, 1/2 a blueberry muffin, and a few bites of scrambled egg.

Due to the larger than normal meal at 8:45, 2 more cups of coffee + creamer, and a large cup of water, I really wasn’t that hungry when 11:00 lunch break rolled around.

I had some steamed peas & carrots. And got a pesto turkey wrap from the ‘to-go’ section. This wrap was delicious. Turkey, pesto, mozzarella, and different squashes.

So so good!! But I was super full and only had a few bites. I saved the rest in the fridge for when I would actually get hungry.

I did have a small piece of banana bread overly sweetened shortbread with brown “banana” globs during the afternoon. Leftover from the patients’ lunch menu. It was okay. Remnants:

It wasn’t until I got home that I realized I left my wrap in the fridge at work! You don’t understand how upset I was.

1. Because I was planning on eating the rest at a normal lunch time. Or for dinner.

2. Because it really was so delicious.

3. Because they might throw it away. I seriously hope not.

So instead, I had a whole wheat english muffin (is english muffin capitalized or not? Still not sure) with mixed berry cream cheese.

I was not expecting the cream cheese to be so….purpley-blue.

Eaten while enjoying the beautiful sunshine outside.

Then I decided to run some errands. Why? I’m not sure. I didn’t exactly need anything. Apple eaten on my way out the door.

I might have gotten 2 huge bottles of wine at Trader Joe’s for an amazingly low low price of $2.99.

And at Costco, I got slightly jipped on my sample. Excuse me, who eats the strawberry stem on their strawberry shortcake?

I got an ad in the male from Cost Plus this week advertising these on sale:

Having a love for anything (I mean anything) pumpkin – I knew I had to treat myself.

Cost Plus has the most amazing pumpkin selection in the world. I was in heaven (because I stood in awe at all the glory) and hell (since I couldn’t slam down my unlimited debit card and but it all).

Beer!!

Pumpkin caramel corn?!?!

Pasta sauce!!!!!!!

+ cookies, pancake mix, bread mix, cupcake mix, scone mix, coffee, syrup, pumpkin bark…OMG GUYS. I was in there staring at all things pumpkin for a good hour.

Now I also had a $10 off a $30 purchase. So I decided to spend another $20 to get me up to $30. Which would then giveme $10 off and bring me down to $20. So in reality, I would only be spending another $10 than I already was. But getting $20 worth of goods. Make sense? It does to a bargain shopper.

Anyways, I walked out with this:

+ some amazing looking vanilla pear butter, which I broke into promptly upon returning home. A little pre-run snack.

Ummmmmmmmmmmmm. I found my new true love.

Seriously. This gave me the energy to go on a bangin’ 3 mile run. Bangin because:

I felt awesome and sped through it at a fast and uncomfortable pace. I made a goal when I first set out to try and make it under 27 minutes/9 min. per mile pace. I ended up with 3.1 miles in 26:53. That would be an 8:39 average, with my max pace peaking at 6:55 minute mile. Prior to my injury, I used to average all my runs at an 8-8:30 pace. But since I’ve gotten back into running, my pace has definitely been slower. I was so proud today 😀

I wasn’t even planning on running. Yet I went out. And did it. And loved it.

I was purely motivated by wine.

Who said wine isn’t a great post-run recovery drink? I had a date with these 2 right after my run:

Hello hello hello! So it looks like we got the place we wanted – good price, semi-remodeled, and decent size! Only downside is, we can’t move in until the 19th of September. Whattt??? Luckily my old roommate is letting me rent out the small room office downstairs until then.

This is where I’ve been living for the past 6 days, and where I’ll be living for the next 3 1/2 weeks (I guess…):

Yay for air mattresses! Actually it’s a pretty comfortable one.

Ok ok when I found out I’ll be staying for longer than a week, I definitely knew it was time to reorganize a bit.

Better?

I moved down with only suitcases and what would fit into my car. My dad’s coming down later with all the big stuff (mattress, bedframe, dresser, etc). So I’ll be living out of my suitcases for a while. I also left quite a few things at home (shoes, some clothes, dvds?) that I’m sad I won’t have for 3 more weeks!

Oh well, at least we have a place to move into 🙂

Today was a day off. And I’ll admit. I was slightly bored.

I took advantage of my free time to make oatmeal for breakfast.

Topped with raspberry jam, and 2 special types of nut butters.

(I kept adding more jam as I ate my way through the bowl. I LOVE jam on oats!)

These beauties:

“Wait Taylor. Aren’t you on a tight budget?”

Why yes. Yes, in fact I am. However I have 2 legitimate excuses reasons for my posession of these guys.

1. I bought the Nuttzo on a great sale about 3 months ago. Before I was on my uber tight budget. It’s just been chillin’ in my pantry making friends with the soup cans and pasta.

2. I also bought the Justin’s on sale (30% off holla!!). Plus I give myself a certain amount to spend per week. And this week, I chose to spend some of it on Justin’s.

So that’s that. I’ll get to my reviews on how I like the products later. Another time, another place blog post.

Later I had some egg white salad in a wrap.

Munched on some celery & cream cheese, and then spent a good portion of the afternoon feeling sick. Weak, heavy headed, slightly nauseous – almost hungover. But I wasn’t, I swear. I might have had 2 glasses of champagne last night at a friend’s going away party! But nothing to induce a hangover. Right?

I planned to do a long run tonight and this wasn’t lookin’ good. I updated my ipod

and drank some iced coffee

Hoping it would help motivate me. I got out the door and wish I could say went on a miraculously great long run! But alas – it was difficult. Heavy legs, hearburn, crazy crazy side-cramps. I definitely stopped and walked A TON, but ended up finishing:

Distance: 6.02 miles

Time: 58:25

Happy that I kept below a 10 minute mile pace even with all the walking. I’ll have to do a longer run possibly Friday?

Dinner was quick and easy. I tried a new find:

Not too small. But I definitely see they skimp on the cheese.

I might have cooked it in a pie pan since there are no baking sheets in the house. (Hey! At least now you can see exactly how big it is!)

While it was cooking I had a gourmet simple salad. I know (healthy) fatty dressings are good for you, especially to absorb your nutrients! But I do love this Trader Joe’s dressing. Plus I got my fat’s worth in half an avocado 😉

Simple? That’s an understatement.

I wish I could say this pizza tasted like the real deal.

But it had barely any flavor. The veggies were watery. And as you saw – where was the cheese?

Sorry TJ’s, but there are way more tasty and healthy pizzas out there! Reduced guilt? More like reduced taste.

At least my after dinner treat made up for it!

I headed out to pick up some band-aids (I’ve gotten some mad blisters walking around at work!), and decided to pick up some froyo. Stoked it was cake batter – my fave! Sprinkled with oreo crumbs and a drizzle of chocolate sauce.

And picked up a Redbox movie – Chloe. Which I’m watching now. And it’s SUPER weird. Don’t get it. Whatever you do. I almost want to demand my $1.09 back. I am on a budget after all.

PHEW. What a post. Tomorrow I start my new nannying job and then head straight to the hospital job. Laterzzz peeps.

Today was a “Me Day.” This morning started out with a bit of strength training (including hip work), foam rolling, stretching, and some Runner’s World yoga. Even though I’ve been very careful and preventive with my stretching and foam rolling, I’m still extremely tight and sore in the hamstrings and IT band area. Everyday I’m experiences painful and tight muscles. This was also a common occurrence back in my old days of running – my quads and hammies were always tight! I know my inflexibility has something to do with my knee pain, and I’m determined to not feel pain in my legs everyday! So I plan to start incorporating 2 days of yoga per week.

I might have used a bit too much protein powder too. Since I only have a small baggie full that I took from home, I had no idea how much “a serving” was. So I guesstimated. After sitting for a few minutes, my batter was quite thick (TWSS), so next time I may add more milk to thin it out a bit.

I was expecting it to be a slightly light breakfast due to the small amount of carbs, but these suckers kept me completely full for 4+ hours! That’s unheard of for me.

Like I twittered, it was a beautiful day and I had no work. That meant beach time! My homemade iced coffee and I hit the road.

I went to sit, call my mommy, and read.

It was such a nice day!

I walked the pier,

Strolled the shops,

And then stopped by Avila Valley Barn. I used to go here all the time, but haven’t in a while. I love this place. It’s similar to a farmer’s market I would say.

I browsed, and got a baby ice cream cone – Cupcake flavor!

How cute!! But honestly, the perfect serving of ice cream for a little treat 😉

I also picked up some fudge for my sister’s birthday and stole a couple slivers 😉 Birthday cake and Heath Toffee flavors.

A late lunch was eaten while watching Ellen.

Salad!

Lettuce with yogurt-ranch dressing & BBQ sauce.

Topped with this delicious “Texas-Caviar” I picked up at Costco.

Great ingredients!

Awww, made with a lot of love! Refreshing 😀

It’s our friend’s birthday today and we’re headed out tonight, although I’m just sticking to a beer (or 2!) since I work tomorrow. I did however make my signature cookies for the birthday boy. And definitely consumed 2…or 3 😉

I was out of chocolate chips, however, and resorted to chopping up a dark chocolate bar I had in the cupboard.

I actually liked the big chunks of melty chocolate throughout!

And now enjoying some Diet Crack while keeping tabs on the Giants game.

GO GIANTS!!!

Phew. After detoxing from sweets this past week, today was a bit much for me and my tum-tum hurts a bit. Blah.

Back to my yoga topic, does anyone have any good stretching yoga dvds they’d recommend? Specifically for runners?

My name is Taylor (Tay) and my blog is just about the life of a recent graduate who's interested in food, health, fitness & FUN! I hope you enjoy it and if you have any questions, comments or suggestions feel free to contact me: